Darren Atchison used his ATV to deliver granola bars and sports drinks to a neighborhood devastated by one of the numerous deadly tornadoes that swept through the South and Midwest, navigating around fallen trees on Monday.
The severe weather event, spanning three days and impacting seven states, unleashed a destructive combination of wildfires, dust storms, and tornadoes, causing widespread damage and fatalities since Friday.
Two residents of Plantersville, Alabama, Atchison’s hometown, were killed by a tornado that decimated a half-dozen homes and severely damaged many others. Among the deceased was 82-year-old Annie Free, described as someone who “just looked out for everyone,” according to Atchison.
Dunk Pickering, a well-known figure in the community who frequently hosted live music and assisted neighbors in times of need, also lost his life.
“He would help anyone, whether he knew them or not. I’ve known him for 20 years, and he’s always been that way,” said John Green, who discovered Pickering’s body in the debris of a building across from his own home.
Green and other neighbors spent at least five hours on Saturday night rescuing people from the wreckage and carrying them to paramedics who couldn’t reach the area due to roads blocked by fallen trees.
Wildfires in Oklahoma
Wildfires across Oklahoma destroyed over 400 homes during the weekend and remain a threat due to continuing high winds.
Keith Merckx of Oklahoma Forestry Services reported that dozens of fires were still active across the state on Monday, with much of the state, including the Oklahoma City area, remaining under fire warnings.
“Once these fires start, they become very difficult to stop. They spread faster than our resources can manage,” Merckx explained.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management attributed four deaths to the fires or high winds. Wildfires destroyed more than 70 homes in and around Stillwater, the location of Oklahoma State University, on Friday.
Tornadoes and high winds across the South
In Mississippi, the governor reported six fatalities and over 200 people displaced by a series of tornadoes across three counties. The National Weather Service’s preliminary report indicates that two significant tornadoes struck the county containing Tylertown within approximately one hour of each other on Saturday.
Scattered tornadoes also caused damage in Missouri, according to authorities. Officials in Arkansas confirmed three deaths.
As the storm moved eastward, two boys, ages 11 and 13, died when a tree fell on their home in western North Carolina early Sunday, according to Transylvania County firefighters. Firefighters discovered them beneath the uprooted 3-foot-wide tree after relatives reported they were trapped in their bedroom, officials stated.
Dust storms in Kansas and Texas
High winds triggered dust storms that resulted in nearly a dozen fatalities in car accidents on Friday.
The state highway patrol reported that eight people died in a pileup involving at least 50 vehicles on a Kansas highway. Authorities also confirmed that three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, located in the Texas Panhandle.
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